Closed For Repairs? National Parks Need Maintenance Funding, And SoonAlthough to some extent true, a lot of problems are bad management. With Wildrose Road all that needs to be done is have someone go through with a bulldozer and do a couple little touch ups and then post that the road is open to 4x4 with high clearance only and that absolutely no trailers are allowed. The cost of that would be next to nothing and it would solve what I see as the biggest local issue affecting Trona residents with DVNP.

...the government has not adequately funded our national parks. This lack of directed funding has left some of our more than 400 coveted national park sites in perilous states. The National Park Service fiscal year 2015 maintenance statistics showed a $12 billion infrastructure repair backlog. What this means is that necessary maintenance on park infrastructure has been continuously left undone. In fact, the 2015 deferment increased by nearly half a billion from the previous fiscal year. Over a third of the maintenance backlog repair includes paved and unpaved roads. Mojave National Preserve is one such example. It has a $109 million dollar backlog, $103 million of that for road repairs. Death Valley National Park has a backlog of $159 million with $141 million in needed road repairs. And Joshua Tree National Park has a $3.8 million backlog for trail projects.

DVNP should deal with the Wildrose Road issue ASAP and it affects more than just people from Trona and Ridgecrest. But you're right in saying that DVNP should keep in mind the needs of people who live close by and do us a few favors every now and then. It's kind of a good neighbors policy that can go a long way to engender good will.

A Good Neighbor Policy is smart, but the people running the park don't seem to care much about locals. They're more interested in impressing people who pay to stay in the hotels at Stovepipe and Furnace Creek. Some people are just more important than others I suppose.

The news is full of all sorts of stupid conspiracies not worth paying attention to. It's all just a distraction to keep people from focusing on the real conspiracies. Here in California roads have been closed left and right for the last few decades. We have less access to public lands than ever before. Most of the land around Trona is off-limits for one reason or another. Not sure who to complain to and I'm not sure if complaining would have any effect, but there's a lot to complain about around these parts!

Maybe the BLM can stop wasting time putting up barriers to close roads that should be left open and do something useful for a change. If they offered their services maybe Wildrose Road would get fixed. Not that much needs to be done. Just put up a sign warning people not to take their passenger cars up there and open it up to 4x4 vehicles with high clearance. In any case, this is an opportunity for the BLM to do something useful for a change!

drdesert: Wildrose Road is open now as you most likely have heard by now. As for the BLM doing anything useful such as making access to the backcountry easier for ordinary citizens, don't hold your breath!